Relativity

Results are 3As and a B for all who want to know. No fight for the hundreds of people with 4As, but otherwise no reason to be upset about it. That slip is important for scholarships, universities and the like, but it is not life. I am worth more than a handful of alphabets printed on recycled paper.
It is striking the way the same set of results draw different reactions in various settings. Among the high achievers in Hwa Chong, I am a small fry, if not a disappointment, someone who may not make it to the list of scholars. The focus is of course, academic. My rather concerned boss emphasised that there is no need to kill ourselves over a set of results. He is far removed from the times of a levels, and since then grade inflation has been significant.To my granddad who does not understand the system, all he wants to know is "good" or "no good". My rather more discerning uncle is only concerned with scholarships, reserving his comments until I clarified that it is still possible to go overseas.
Results change perceptions, just as the same set of results elicit different judgements. Some with stellar results, have the road ahead paved carefully in stone, and thus spurn the mud trails and the accompanying sceneries which they have hitherto professed to enjoy. Others less fortunate and/or hardworking (however you put it), now tread ever more cautiously on these undefined tracks. Beggars cannot be choosers.
I cut it close, perhaps a little too close for comfort. However, all roads lead to Rome. All that differs is the journey and the associated level of ease, affluence and fame. It is alright to go on a wild adventure by myself. I am myself and not a list of achievements, which matters little in the end. We only live once, and will all eventually crumble to dust.